GREYS

Steam Engine

#B2B2AD

RGB 178, 178, 173 · HSL 60°, 3%, 69% · CMYK 0, 0, 3, 30

Steam Engine is #B2B2AD in HEX — rgb(178, 178, 173), hsl(60°, 3%, 69%), cmyk(0%, 0%, 3%, 30%).

Steam Engine pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 60°, 3%, 69%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on walls, soft furniture, hard surfaces — as the project's quiet backbone. Reads best alongside white trim, natural wood, brass, soft black accents.

Color Codes

HEX#B2B2AD

RGB178, 178, 173

HSL60°, 3%, 69%

HSV60°, 3%, 70%

CMYK0, 0, 3, 30

Decimal11711149

CSS RGBrgb(178, 178, 173)

CSS HSLhsl(60, 3%, 69%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Diffused Grey SN4B7

ΔE 1 · #AFB0AC

Vista Paint

Praise Giving C-539

ΔE 1 · #B4B2AE

Benjamin Moore

San AC-29

ΔE 1.1 · #B5B3AF

Kilz

Warm Ashes RK220

ΔE 1.2 · #B5B5AF

Hallman-Lindsay

Praise Giving 540

ΔE 1.2 · #B2B1AE

Sherwin-Williams

Magnetic Gray SW7058

ΔE 1.5 · #B2B5AF

Behr

Ashes UL260-9

ΔE 1.6 · #B7B4AE

Farrow & Ball

Lamp Room Gray 88

ΔE 1.7 · #B2B1A9

Valspar

Coastal Jetty 5007-1C

ΔE 2.3 · #ADAFA7

Colorhouse

Metal .03 Metal-03

ΔE 2.5 · #B5B8B1

PPG

Gray Marble 1002-4

ΔE 2.5 · #B9B4B1

Dutch Boy

Drifting Sand DCP-0218

ΔE 2.7 · #B6B2A9

Dunn-Edwards

Pebble Walk DE6277

ΔE 3.5 · #AFB2A7

IKEA

IKEA181 181

ΔE 4.7 · #B2BCB8

RAL

White Aluminium 9006

ΔE 5.4 · #A5A5A5

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 10.5 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

44/100

Medium

0 · DarkLight · 100

Balanced reflectance — holds colour without washing out. Versatile for most rooms and the most forgiving range for true-to-chip results.

Undertone

TemperatureNeutral MasstoneYellow UndertoneGreen

A near-neutral with a subtle neutral green undertone — it will pick up colour from surrounding surfaces and shift noticeably under different light.

Color Theory

Complementary

#B2B2AD

#AEAEB2

Analogous

#B2B0AE

#B2B2AD

#B0B2AE

Triadic

#B2B2AD

#AEB2B2

#B2AEB2

Split-Complementary

#B2B2AD

#AEB0B2

#B0AEB2

Tetradic

#B2B2AD

#AEB2B0

#AEAEB2

#B2AEB0

Monochromatic

#666660

#8D8D86

#B2B2AD

#D7D7D5

#F3F3F2

Rectangle

#B2B2AD

#AEB2AE

#AEAEB2

#B2AEB2

Compound

#B2B2AD

#B0B2AE

#AEAEB2

#B0AEB2

Variations

Lighter

#C2C2BE

#D1D1CE

#E4E4E3

Darker

#909089

#64645E

#3A3A36

Saturation

#B1B1AF

#B2B2AE

#D9D987

Interior Use

Best Rooms

living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms

Best Uses

walls, soft furniture, hard surfaces

Pairs With

white trim, natural wood, brass, soft black accents

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

2.13:1

Fail

vs Black

9.86:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#B2B2AD

#B3B2AE

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#B2B2AD

#B2B2AE

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#B2B2AD

#B2B1B2

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Steam Engine gets out of the way so the architecture and the people in the room do the work. The right neutral is never a default — it reads warm or cool, dusty or sharp depending on its undertone, and that undertone is what makes or breaks the room.

SymbolismBalance, sophistication, calm

PersonalityAdaptable, considered, timeless

versatileneutraltimelessbackdroptrimwall

How it looks under different light

#C5B29D

Warm Bulb 2700K

Incandescent / soft white LED — pulls colour toward yellow/amber.

#B2B2AD

Daylight 5500K

Midday natural light or daylight-spec LED — closest to the paint chip.

#B2B7C1

Cool Bulb 6500K

Cool white LED / overcast daylight — pulls colour toward blue.

Pairs With

#EBEBEA

Trim

Matched off-white

Same hue at 92% lightness — trim reads coordinated, not stark.

#F7F7F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

Near-white with a hint of the hero's undertone — ceiling feels intentional.

#7B7BB0

Accent

Complementary punch

Hue +180°, slightly muted for paint vs. screen — use on a door, frame, or single piece.

#574738

Floor

Walnut neutral

Warm mid-brown grounds the scheme regardless of hero hue.

Paint Info

Brand · Product Line

Benjamin Moore / Regal Select Interior

Recommended Finishes

Eggshell (walls) · Pearl (trim) · Matte (ceiling)

Eggshell hides imperfections on main walls while keeping the color rich; pearl on trim adds subtle sheen and easier cleaning; flat matte on ceilings prevents glare.

Best Surfaces

Primary walls · Cabinetry · Trim · Soft furniture

Coverage & Dry Time

Typical coverage 350-400 sq ft per gallon over a primed surface.

Touch-dry in ~1 hour. Recoat after 4 hours. Full cure 7-14 days.

Primer

Standard primer is adequate.

Application Tip

Use a 9" microfiber roller on walls and a 2.5" angled sash brush for trim cuts. Two coats minimum for even depth.

Paint Calculator

Wall area (m²)

Coats

Coverage (m² / L)

You'll need

4.0 litres

1.06 US gallons · room for one touch-up coat. Buy slightly more to ensure single-batch match.

Code Snippets

CSS — color

color: #B2B2AD;

CSS — background

background-color: #B2B2AD;

CSS Variable

--color-steam-engine: #B2B2AD;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'steam-engine': '#B2B2AD' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#B2B2AD] text-[#B2B2AD]

SCSS

$steam-engine: #B2B2AD;

Similar Colors

San Antonio Gray

#B4B2AE · ΔE 1.0

Ozark Shadows

#B6B4AC · ΔE 2.0

Nightingale

#B6B4B2 · ΔE 2.0

Silver Dollar

#B3B1B0 · ΔE 2.3

Stone Harbor

#B4AFA8 · ΔE 2.3

La Paloma Gray

#B8B4AC · ΔE 2.4

Sea Haze

#B3B5AB · ΔE 2.9

Coventry Gray

#B8BAB6 · ΔE 3.0

Built by DSGN.HOUSE Updated 2026

Our color tools run on our own catalogue of 26,000+ real paint colors across 16 brands — Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, Behr, Dulux, RAL and more — with the color math (HSL and CIELAB matching) computed in-house, not scraped from summaries. Every color you pick maps to a real, buyable paint with its code, so what you see here you can actually take to the store. We review and update these tools and their data regularly.

Created by Denis Kataev, founder of DSGN.HOUSE — a software engineer and digital entrepreneur building professional color-design tools for everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #B2B2AD?

#B2B2AD is Steam Engine, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #B2B2AD warm or cool?

Steam Engine reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Steam Engine?

Steam Engine works well in living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms. Designers typically use it for walls, soft furniture, hard surfaces.

What colors pair well with Steam Engine?

Steam Engine pairs naturally with white trim, natural wood, brass, soft black accents. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Steam Engine?

You can download Steam Engine on DSGN.HOUSE in 15 designer formats including CSS gradient, Figma, Procreate swatches, Tailwind config, Adobe ASE, SVG, and 4K wallpapers — all free.

What's the hex code for Steam Engine?

The hex code is #B2B2AD. In RGB it's 178, 178, 173, and in HSL it's 60°, 3%, 69%.

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